Billionaire Steven A. Cohen's former hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LP will pay $135 million to settle a lawsuit by investors in the drugmaker Elan Corp, who said they lost money because of insider trading by one of his portfolio managers. The preliminary class-action settlement with SAC, now known as Point72 Asset Management LP, was filed on Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl. It resolves claims over an estimated $275 million of illegal trading gains in Elan and the drugmaker Wyeth by Mathew Martoma, who worked at SAC's CR Intrinsic Investors unit, based on tips from a Michigan doctor about a 2008 Alzheimer's drug trial.

Billionaire Steven A. Cohen's former hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LP will pay $135 million to settle a lawsuit by investors in the drugmaker Elan Corp, who said they lost money because of insider trading by one of his portfolio managers. The preliminary class-action settlement with SAC, now known as Point72 Asset Management LP, was filed on Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl. It resolves claims over an estimated $275 million of illegal trading gains in Elan and the drugmaker Wyeth by Mathew Martoma, who worked at SAC's CR Intrinsic Investors unit, based on tips from a Michigan doctor about a 2008 Alzheimer's drug trial.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, on Wednesday waded into the long-running battle over the future control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest players in the U.S. home mortgage market, saying that the lenders should be returned to private control. Fannie and Freddie stood at the center of the 2008 financial crisis. When the U.S. housing market collapsed beginning in 2006, it crippled their finances and forced a taxpayer-financed rescue totaling $188 billion to help thwart the disintegration of the U.S. financial system

Energy shares jumped with oil prices after OPEC agreed to cut production. Bank shares also rose after comments by Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Treasury secretary, told CNBC that tax reforms and trade pact overhauls would be top priorities of the new administration. Bank of America gained 4.5 percent, while Goldman Sachs ended up 3.6 percent and hit a high of $220.77, its best level since the financial crisis.

Oil's blistering rally of up to 10 percent to $50 a barrel on Wednesday should continue into next week, analysts and fund managers said, after the world's top producers announced a historic deal to rein in output. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached its first deal to cut oil output since 2008 – signaling its return to managing supply in world markets. The path ahead for the oil market, however, is expected to be volatile, as those who positioned for a rally unwind their trades to book profits.

U.S. private employers stepped up hiring in November and consumer spending increased last month, the latest signs of economic strength that could further cement the case for an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month. Stocks on Wall Street generally rose, with both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index hitting record intraday highs.

U.S. private employers stepped up hiring in November and consumer spending increased last month, the latest signs of economic strength that could further cement the case for an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month. Stocks on Wall Street generally rose, with both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index hitting record intraday highs.

While traffic has slowed at Tiffany's 5th Avenue store, it accounts for “less than 10 percent” of net sales, Tiffany said. Tiffany said on Tuesday that its worldwide net sales rose 1.2 percent in the third quarter ended Oct. 31 as demand for fashion jewelry rose and stores in Japan performed strongly, helped by higher consumer spending and a strong yen. Tiffany's net income rose 4.5 percent to $95.1 million, or 76 cents per share.

Iran and Iraq are resisting pressure from Saudi Arabia to curtail oil production, making it hard for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach a deal to limit output and boost the price of crude when it meets on Wednesday. OPEC sources told Reuters a meeting of experts in Vienna on Monday failed to bridge differences between OPEC's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and the group's second- and third-largest producers over the mechanics of output cuts. “We will leave the level of production (where) we decided in Algeria,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters upon arrival in Vienna, effectively signaling he was not prepared to reduce output.